A portion of Interstate 95 near Center City will be closed for 36 hours over the first weekend in February, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation announced Monday.
The temporary closure, during which the northbound lanes of I-95 will be closed between the Columbus Boulevard and I-676 exits, will be in effect from the evening of Saturday, Feb. 3 through the morning of Monday, Feb. 5.
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PennDOT will close this section of the interstate so crews can partially demolish the concrete covering that now sits over I-95 between Chestnut and Walnut streets to make way for a new structure that, once completed, will connect Old City with Penn’s Landing along the Delaware River waterfront. The $329 million project will link the two areas with an 11 1/2-acre public park that will include play areas, gardens, memorials, an amphitheater and a wooden pavilion.
The project also includes a two-mile extension to the Delaware River Trail from Spring Garden Street to Washington Avenue, with an extension of the South Street Bridge connecting pedestrians and cyclists to the waterfront.
After being delayed for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic and engineering hurdles, the project was approved to begin last February, setting off a series of planned closures and detours intended to temporarily divert vehicle traffic away from I-95 and select on-ramps.
PennDOT will start the next phase of the project by limiting traffic to one lane on the northbound side of I-95 between the Columbus Boulevard (Exit 20) and I-676 (Exit 22) interchanges from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3. After that, all lanes on that northbound section of I-95 will be closed and traffic will be detoured accordingly until the closure ends at 5 a.m. Monday, Feb. 5.
During the height of next weekend’s closure — between Saturday evening and early Monday morning — PennDOT announced that it will close four on-ramps: the ramp to I-95 North and I-676 near Washington Avenue and Columbus Boulevard; the I-95 North ramp at Lombard Circle; the ramp onto I-95 North from the Walt Whitman Bridge; and the on-ramp to I-95 North from Front Street. PennDOT urges motorists to avoid areas near the closure due to expected traffic backups and congestion.
Pedestrians can still navigate between Old City and the waterfront via Dock Street and Market Street during the closure, PennDOT said.
Earlier this month, SEPTA announced a series of bus route changes to accommodate the upcoming demolition and construction.
Once completed, the new park is expected to generate around $1.6 billion in revenue for the city, the School District of Philadelphia and the state, according to the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation. Future phases of the project, along with accompanying closures and detours, will be announced as they are scheduled. Project details, construction updates, detours and other relevant information are available at 95revive.com and parkatpennslanding.com.
After originally projecting the park to be completed by 2026, officials now expect it to be built by 2028 and to open to the public the following year.